The MSI GT70 One-609US Dragon Edition offers everything you might want, including quad-core processing, Nvidia graphics, and networking designed with online gaming in mind, at a price that isn't too astronomical.

Performance
The GT70 One Dragon Edition is equipped with a quad-core Intel Core i7-3630QM processor paired with 16GB of DDR3 memorythe same combination seen on the mid-range Editors' Choice Asus G75VW-DH72. Normally clocked at 2.4GHz, MSI has also added its proprietary Turbo Drive Engine overclocking, which lets you ramp up the speed to 3.4GHz for faster performance at the touch of a button.

Even without the overclocking activated, the GT70 One Dragon Edition still offers some of the best performance available in this price range, scoring 5,182 points in PCMark 7, putting it well ahead of last year's Alienware M17x R4 (4,598 points) but just behind the Maingear Nomad 17 Ultimate (5,328 points). Cinebench results (6.41 points) put it right in line with similarly equipped systems, like the Asus G75VW-DH72 (6.44 points), as do Handbrake and Photoshop results (0:36 Handbrake, 3:32 Photoshop).

MSI outfitted the GT70 One Dragon Edition with an Nvidia GeForce GTX 680M graphics processor, with 4GB of dedicated memory. In Aliens vs. Predator, it racked up 104 frames per second (fps) at medium detail settings and 1,366-by-768 resolution, and stayed in the playable range with 35 fps when resolution was dialed up to 1,920-by-1,080. When tested with Heaven, however, it scored 123 fps at medium settings and an excellent 58 fps at 1080p. While you'll get better graphics performance from a system packing two GPUs, like the high-end Editors' Choice Origin EON17-SLX, you will still see excellent performance on even the most demanding games.

Where the GT70 One Dragon Edition really stood out was battery life. Where most bulky gaming machines struggle to cross the two-hour threshold, the laptop lasted 4 hours 12 minutes in our video rundown test, making the most of its 9-cell 87Wh battery. By comparison, the Maingear Nomad 17 Ultimate, with a similar 87Wh battery, lasted only 1:06, while the Asus G75VW-DH72 lasted an admirable 3:02. Even the portability-minded Razer Blade (2012) lasted only 3:53, making the MSI one of the longer lived gaming rigs on the market today.

Strong performance and a reasonable price make the MSI GT70 One-609US Dragon Edition an excellent choice among mid-range gaming laptops, but you will find better performance in some competing systems, like the Maingear Nomad 17 Ultimate, and similar performance for less in the budget-friendly Editors' Choice Asus GT70-DH72. However, if the blend of performance and customization appeal to you, we have no qualms recommending the MSI GT70 One-609US Dragon Edition.

Brian Westover is an Analyst for the Hardware Team, reviewing laptops, desktops, and storage devices.
As a child, Brian was frequently asked "What do you want to be when you grow up?" His answer alternated between...

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